Meet the Land Rover Fleet - Blossom

09th October 2026

Part of Goodwood’s original quartet of 1961 Series 2 Land Rovers, Blossom has already lived a life of considerable service. The 2,807th 88inch to roll off the production line, she was built with a petrol engine and is believed to have formed part of Army Contract KL/H/0934, alongside fellow Series 2s Briar and Burdock. Together, the three represent a small piece of the story of the Land Rover as a working vehicle, built not for show but to be put to use. 

Blossom’s history is slightly different from that of her Goodwood companions. While Briar and Burdock were both issued with period-correct six-digit registrations following their time in military service, Blossom now wears a seven-digit ‘A’ suffix registration, giving the impression that she dates from 1963. It is unlikely to have been her first civilian registration, however, and is thought to have been reissued after her original number was sold as a personal registration in the 1990s. 

By the time Blossom arrived at Goodwood, she was already part way through a restoration. Purchased as an unfinished project from a restorer near Gatwick Airport, was returned to her correct Bronze Green and had received a number of mechanical repairs. On the surface, she appeared close to being ready for another chapter. Look a little closer, however, and her years of work were written into the structure beneath the paint. 

Her original chassis was showing extensive corrosion. The initial intention was to carry out a series of localised repairs, welding patches where necessary and returning Blossom to service. After joining the Goodwood fleet, it became clearer that the damage was more extensive than first thought. A chassis that had spent decades supporting a working Land Rover could no longer simply be patched and pressed back into service. 

The decision was therefore taken to undertake a more thorough restoration. Blossom has now been stripped back, allowing the condition of the vehicle and its individual components to be properly assessed. Parts that could be retained are being carefully restored by the Goodwood Workshop team, while the heavily corroded chassis was replaced with a new galvanised example. The aim was not to turn Blossom into something she had never been, but to preserve what makes her a Series 2 Land Rover in the first place. 

That distinction matters. These vehicles were designed to work. Their appeal lies as much in the marks left by decades of use as it does in their distinctive shape, and restoring one is as much about understanding its working life as it is about making it presentable again. Every component tells part of the story, from the mechanical systems that kept her moving to the simple, purposeful details that defined the Series 2. 

Blossom was on display in our workshop over Revival, where members of the public could get a close look into the ongoing restoration needed to prepare her for the years ahead. It is a continuation of the care that has already gone into bringing her back from an unfinished project, with Goodwood’s workshop team working through the vehicle piece by piece. 

When the work is complete, Blossom will return not as a museum piece, but as a working member of the Goodwood fleet. Her next chapter will be another life of service as part of our Off-Road Experience fleet, carrying forward the character of a Land Rover that has already spent more than six decades doing exactly what it was built to do. 

After all these years, Blossom is still being put to work.

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Revival2026_JohnathanSwann_47.jpg

  • Meet the Fleet

  • Motor Circuit

  • Driving Experiences

  • Motorsport

  • Driving

  • Classic cars